iowiken beadle



J.L.BBADLB. VENTILATION 0F MINES. r No. 47,6941 Patented May 16, 1865..

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', @iMeaovEMENT INVNTiLATIoN 'ol-li/llvls's,V Y

.` Specification forming part `ofLettersPatent No. 4795l, dated `May 16, 1865.`

` To tZZ tohom inta/,y concern.- j Y Be itknown thatI, J.L oWDnN BEADLE, of Ashland, inthe countyofSchuylkill and State ot' Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ventilating Mines;

.and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,- clear, .and exact description4 thereof, which .will enable others reference being had to the accompanying draw-I ings, forming part of this specification, inI Which-` Y Figure lis a` vertical 'section through the upcast sh-aft of Aa cOaLm-ine, showing a gangway and airzcourses which communicate with it, the line of section being seen at so, Fig. 2. Fig, 2 shows a horizontal section of the ymine 0:1 the bentline y of Fig. l. Fig.`3 is a crosssection of one of the breasts B on the line z. Fig. 4 showsthe relative position of the chutes and gangway when the chutesare above the air-cou-rses. y

The invention consists in 'a new mode-of ventilation to be applied to mines of coal,`iron, or othersubterranean "workings, in which an exhausting-fan, or equivalent apparatus, is to be used in connection with a `system of aircourses and air cut-'offs for the purpose of freeing them from noxious and dangerous airs and gases and supplying fresh atmospheric air to the breasts and other parts ofthe mines. In all extensive mines, and` particularly in those which are excavated far beneath the surface, a large amount of heavy air and noxions vapors accumulates from several sources, among which are the condensations of the surface `air, the accumulations of carbonioA 'acid gas and other heavy vapors from the burningzof lamps, the explosions of powder, and from the respirations of numerous operatives, and the gases which escape from the seams of coal in numberless minute jets. From theseV and similar causes the mines become lledwith vapor heavier than the common atmosphere, whichcannot be removed by means of natural currentsthat is, by those which may be induced by atmospheric pressure-since the columns of air in the upcast and downcast shafts are usuallyin equilibrium. Therefore, some adequate articial means must be used to 4create a suicient current inthe' galleries and workings in order to remove the noxious airs and gases and to supply their e skilled in the art tol fully understand and makeuse of the same'.

gestred, excepting the one herein lplaces with wholesome air, and which inu'st be. `in sufficient quantity not only to sustain life, "but also effectually to! displace the 'noxious gases, and among thenrsfuch as are dangerousbecause of `their liabilityvto cause explosions. Indeep and gaseous mines an enormous exlcess of pure air is required, beyond the mere Wants of the operatives for respiration, in order to remove the-dan ger of explosions. The gases which-are `liberated by the-progress ofthe workings, and which are also delivered in all parts ofthe `mine from innumerable minute jets from the beds of coal become explosive and lia-ble to burn when they are mixed with certain equivalents of oxygen or atmospheric air. Therefore a feeble ventilation, onsuch 1s v one would suppose to be enough for the wants of the miners, will only expose them toi more certain destruction by producing :a highly-explosive compound; and I am not aware of any system of ventilation hitherto tried or sugwhich completely removes this source of danger. Y

The systems of `ventilation commonly employed are, natural ventilation,? caused by free currents of air passing` `through the mine by the ordinary resorting to any artificial compelling forces;

furnace-Ventilation,7 caused by the erection of. the upc-ast .sha-fi` v,in

of furnaces atthe base p order to rarefy the `air and produce an active upward current therein; esteam-vei1tilation,7 caused by introducing steam-jets into the upcast shaft, and#fan-ventilation, caused by exhausting the air from the upcaszt shaft and so inducing a current down the downcast shaft. The system of natural ventilation is the best `whereit can. be availed of,.but its application is limited to shallow mines and to such as are above water-level, where the currents of air can be made to move from natural causes; but this mode is not available in deep and `extensive mines, and in such furnace-ventilation is now most generally resorted to. This mode is effective where tire-damp774 or `coalgas does not exist in appreciable quantities 5 butiwh ere it is abundantas in liery mines-'this mode becomes highly dangerous, since when gas, in an explosive condition, is forced back upon Ventilating-furnaces, as will occasionally happen l from the falling in of some of the workings, and like accidents beset. forth,

galleries and shafts, without a youd the foresight and control of the most intelligcnt management, disastrous explosions will follow, resulting inloss of life and in great damage to the mine. The expediente hitherto devised to prevent these gases from reaching the furnaces have not been successi'ul, and-thereibre the system of furnace-ventilation is defective and dangerous.

I have here illustrated my invention by showing its application to a coal-mine where the bed of coal is supposed, for the sake of simplicity in thev drawings, to be horizontal.

A is the downcast shaft, open to the atmospheric pressure, and through it fresh air descends to the mine.

Fis the upcast shaft, which is connected near its top with an. exhaust-fan, I, through which the shaft is continued until in emerges at the surface of the earth. f

D is the gangway, with which all the gal leries or breasts, or whatever other names the workings go by, communicate, it being the main avenue for the loading of the coal upon cars or trucks ruiming upona railway (not here shown.) leading tothe shaft A, or other placewhere the coal is t'o be brought to be taken tothe surface of the earth. The ends of the dgangway D are closed by means of doors which are opened to permit the passage of the miners and of the cars t0 and fro.

C is an air-course,here shown as runnin g parallel with the gangway D and enterin'git near its inner end by means of achannel, b. The npcast shaft Fconimunicates with the gangway D nearits outer end, the door 4d being so placed a s to prevent communication betwe'en the shai'ts F and A 'while it is closed.

B are the workings of the mine, in the class of mine here represented, properly7 called. breasts, andwhich are carried forward as far as found convenient orproiitable, accordingto circumstances, being sometimes connected 'to each other at their extreme ends or at any other points by cross-.cuttings c, at a point above the aircourses a', the object of which is to provide a means of escape for the miners from sudden peril, their location being deter mined by the characterot the rock through which the breast is pushed. The breasts B communicate with the gangway by means of chutes, (designated by the figures l 2 3 4 5 6,)

through which the coal taken from the breasts is delivered to the cars in the gangway, the latter, whenever the situation and character of the mine admit, being sunk below the level of' the breasts and chutes,l so-that the coal may be run down into the cars directly from the chutes without handling.

rllhe width of the gan gway and of the breasts will be greater than the aircourses or chutes,

and the height of the air-courses need be only sufticient for the volume of air required for a mine, diiering according to the extent of different mines, and for necessary communication with'different parts oi' the mine in any The chutes aie.L

exigency which may arise. closed likewise by doors d, which close all l communication between the breasts B. These doors may be hung to the roofs of the chutes so a-s to be pendulous, closing by their own gravity when the cars are emptied and drawn back into the breasts, or when the coal to be delivered into the gangways has been run down so as to load the gangwaycars.

A is a return aircourse, cut parallel with i the gangway, between. it and the end of the breasts, and intersecting the latter at their places of beginning. It is here shown, as cut below, the chutes 1 2 3, &c., and doors d are placed across the said air-course opposite each pillar.of coal P left between the breasts, so as i to prevent the air goin g directly down the said i air-course to the shaft F, as it will go when -the said doors are all opened.

The breasts or workings B are of a height i equa-l to the combined heightof the return aircourse H and the chutes l 2 3, Src., and` both the air course H and the chutes-commuf` nicate with the breasts. This air-course andi the chutes are in Vdiiierent elevations, so that` in passing from one of the breasts to the chute which is opposite to it one must pass; over the roof of the air-course.. The doors di of the air course are distinguished 'from the doors of the chutes by their positions.

In the working of the mine the breasts gct iilled up'with loose coal to .the line :of the air` course, so as to obstruct ventilation. There-` fore it becomes necessary to provide the airpassages a, which are continued from breast to breast by constructing them also along the outer ends of the pillars whichbreasts.

The air-course H and its doors d are seen in Fig. 2. It may be cut above the level of the chutes, Ainstead of below it.

a are air courses temporarily made along each side of the breasts B, and around the ends of the several pillars, by means of plank and timber, rough or hewn, and vdisposedby the miners as they dig into a breast' alongthe lower edges of the pillars P on either side., so that the timber or plank rest securely in an angular position, forming an air-course of an area, say.; fourfeet wide at its base and six feethigh, and whieh,it`ofdi-Eferent proportions and size, must be always large enough to admit the ingress and egress of the miners to and from theaee fof 'the breast, and to admit an air-current of suiic'ient volume for thev ventilation of the working. I make the aircourses fa if-"titre dimensions above stated when 'the breast'B is :about thirty feet wide.v

As the miners ipuslh 'the breast forward, they throw the coallbeh'iind them, (covering the aircourses u, and `4tllrebreast to its roof, as seen in Fig.. As they advance, they lay the temporaryYatr-crevrrserraiin continuation,nearly up to the ifafee auf Athe breasts. The planks and timbers fof iwlhieh the .fair-courses a are built need Tnrtlheaceurately fitted or jointed together, 'because itihe nnassesA of broken coal and coaldust 'thiruwnfover them, will seal. them sufficiently iiiifghit tor Athe object in view.

divide the v The course ofthe air through a mine snpplied with air-courses. and doors or cut-offs according to my invention is indicated by arrows, the air and gases taken from the mine being 'delivered into the up-cast from the airconrse a. of the nearest4 breast B, as seen in Fig. 2. I

'lhe air-courses a remain unobstructed and in good order until the coal is removed from the several breasts, which may be-in a' longer or shorter period, according Vto the demands "of the market or the convenience of the owners, since therventilation of the mine is not hindered by letting the coal remain in the breasts.

When a direct return air course is required for any purpose, it is had by opening some of the doors d in the air-course H, or allot' them, as occasion demands.

The air which descends the shaft A enters the air-course C, and passes thence through its branch b into the gangway, where it has free accessto and passes along the iacewher'e the workmen are engaged driving the main avenue D forward. It then enters the inside chute and passes into the adjoining run or breast B, traversing its air-courses a and those of thev other breasts, until it reaches the up. cast shaft F, and is carried bythe fan I or other suitable mechanism out of the mine. The doors d prevent it from returning or deviatin g from its course. They are constantly kept closed, except those in the main avenue, which are opened temporarily to allow the liden cars to pass to the shaft A, through which they reach the mouth of the pit.

Pillars of coal (marked P) are left throughout the mine for its support and systematic worklng.

The doors in the return air course I-I tend to compel the air to pass up one side of the breasts to the face Where the miners are at Work.

The term face is the technical name given to the point Where the miners are at work extending the excavations ofthe mine, Whether in the gan gways, air-courses, headings, cr breasts.

The mine maybe extended in all directions fron the upcast and downcast shafts, and all the excavations be ventilated in the way above explained. 4

This system of ventilation is applicable to all modes of deep mining without any change in the principle or mode of operation.

The size of the fan I should be greater or less, -acccording to the extent of the workings.

I have used in the Locust Dale Uolliery, Pennsylvania, a fan of eight feet diameter by a width of thirty inches clear. The working speed, or that which is sufficient to ei'ect perfeet ventilation throughout the mine, is ninety revolutions per minute, b ut it can be run with ease 4to three hundred, at which rate fully sixty thousand cubic feet of air per minute is discharged; but in this mine such a speed produces al perfect storm of wind along the air-courses, and of course is not required nor allowed. I

The fan or other apparatus used for exhausting the noxious gases from the mine and keeping up a current of fresh airthrongh it is to be placed in such a position as will be most advantageous for its efficient operation.

My invention is not con filled to any peculiar .form of mine, as distinguished by the terms shaft,77 slope,7 tunnel,7 Ste., but it is applicable wherever an artificial current is required through subterraneous excavations and intricate and numerous avenues, and it inaugurates a-system of mining, Ventilating, or operative air-courses which will facilitate the economical excavation and mining of coal, and secure the permanent Working of the mine and its perfect ventilation.

I do not claim, broadly, the application to mines of the fan as a ventilator, nor do I claim theuse of the fan for propelling or forcing a current of air, as hitherto used in mines generally but p I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Iatent-l The use of the fan as an exhauster ot' the impurities of mines, or for the purpose of creating a partial vacuum in the working parts thereof, in combination with the system of aircourses herein represented and described.

Witnesses: J. LOWDEN B'EADLE.

WM. T. RICHARDS, i S. HARRIEs DADDoW. 

